The Morph-Capability-Zapper Thing
by Vanarxia
Summary: I already posted one chapter, to read it you'll have to check my profile in the author directory


Author's Note: Many thanks to Sphinx of Liquid Steel for showing me the HTML for this style!!!!!!!!

**Chapter Two -- Marco**

* * *

  
"You sure you want to admit this, Rachel?" I teased. "You had fun -- without shopping or beating up on the Yeerk empire?"

She flashed her famous Cover Girl smile -- I'm sure she's modeling secretely and not telling any of us about it -- and shrugged. "Horse morph is cool."

**Cooler than grizzly morph or eagle morph?** Tobias wondered.

Rachel sighed. "Eek. All I did was try out a new morph and you people are acting like I --"

"Back to business," Jake cut in sharply. Cassie sent him an annoyed look, like _Business, business, business, _ which he ignored. "So. Marco, you called the stupid meeting. Why?"

I sighed. "Because the Yeerks are trying to create some device to zap the morphing power from a morph-capable. Whole new levels of danger."

**I wonder if it's portable or just fixed in one place. Are we talking multiple, or single?** Tobias wondered.

"Like I know?" I demanded. "You think I have no desire to live? You think I run around asking known Controllers if the stupid thing is portable? 'Hi, Principal Chapman, sorry to bother you and all, but is this morph-capability-zapper thing something you tote around in your pocket? Oh, it is? What do you mean, how do I know about it? Hey, be careful with that thing! You might hit me with one of those beams of --' "

"We get the point, Mr. No Acting Talent," Rachel snapped irritably, all humor gone from her voice.

"No acting talent? Hey, I starred in a commercial once," I retorted. "I starred in 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.' "

"Uh-huh. As what, the butler in the background?"

"Ouch."

**So, Marco, how exactly did you find out about this morph-capability-zapper thing?** Tobias asked me.

"I was over at Red's house and I heard his sister talking on the phone." Red is my friend. Short, like me. Sarcastic, like me. No sense of humor, unlike me. I'm rather perplexed as to how he can be sarcastic and yet not have a sense of humor.

Okay, so technically he has a sense of humor. He cracks jokes all the time. He just never finds my jokes funny.

"Awwww," Rachel smirked. "His sister? Were you, by any chance, hanging out with Red just for an excuse to see her?"

I feigned shock. "Why would I care about Rita? Why would I --" I noticed the grin on Jake's face and sighed. "Okay, so maybe I was."

"Figured," Rachel said, still smirking. "Another prospective girlfriend out the window. Tsk, tsk, tsk." She shook her head in a gesture of pity. "But even if she wasn't a Controller, you wouldn't have had a chance. She has a boyfriend, Marco. Deal with it."

"Don't you think I'm cuter than him?" I said with a mock-hurt look on my face.

"Um, Marco? No offense, but a sea slug is cuter than you," she shot back.

"That hurt."

**Hello?? We have other problems besides Marco's love life, which, I might add, does not exist,**** Tobias interrupted.**

"Egg-zactly," Ax agreed. "What is this morph-capaBILity-ZAP-per, zipper, ZAP-PER thing called?"

"Like I have a clue?" I demanded. "And was that egg-zactly agreeing that we have other things to discuss or agreeing that my love life does not exist?"

"Both."

"You know, I could almost cry, but he actually made a joke," I sighed. "A joke at my expense. Alien's first joke about Marco. Baby's first steps on Marco's head."

Rachel shot a pleading look at Jake. "Are we going to get something accomplished during this meeting, or just sit here and listen to Marco the idiot babble?"

"Idiot? Babble?"

Jake looked annoyed. "Marco, shut up. We have more problems than 'baby's first steps on Marco's head' and 'Marco's nonexistent love life.' Now. Did you hear the name of the stupid morph-capability-zapper or not? I hope you did, because if not we'll have to keep saying morph-capability-zapper thing and I'm sick of the name already."

"No, Jake, I didn't," I replied. "Just call it the MCZ." I considered. "Sounds almost...cool."

Rachel snorted. "You have no life."

"And you're a TV show character, Xena."

She flashed the Cover Girl smile again -- some part of me wondered if deep down, beneath it all, she really like me -- and said, "So. We stomp into the Yeerk pool and bust whatever they're doing up. Sounds like a plan to me."

"Not much of a plan," Cassie said, "but we don't have a better one." She looked to Jake for agreement.

"This has to stop," he said. "No matter how we do it. So, for lack of a better plan, we'll go with Xena's."

Rachel grinned. "Let's do it!"   


* * *

**Chapter Three -- Cassie**

* * *

  
Down to the Yeerk pool. Myself, I wasn't too thrilled with Rachel/Xena's plan, but it wasn't like we had a set of options in ABC format. It had to stop. Period. Nothing more to say.

Yeerk pool. That meant killing. Killing the enemy and the host. Killing the guilty with the innocent. Sinking to their level.

We killed innocents. Yes, we killed for a different cause, but still we killed innocent people who had no control over what the Yeerk in their mind did.

I shook the thoughts away, determined to ignore the nagging voice in my head that called itself "conscience." We had to do this.

"Ready, everyone?" Jake said. It was broad daylight, the next day. We figured that in this case, the daylight could work for us. They couldn't send Hork-Bajir out in the open. They couldn't risk it. If we destroyed the MCZ and made it out, we'd be home free.

If we survived the Yeerk pool itself.

"I believe that we are ready, Prince Jake," Ax said.

"Baby's second steps!" Marco exclaimed. "He got through a sentence without playing with a single mouth-sound!"

"Believe. Be-lieve. Lieve," Ax said quickly.

"I guess baby just backed up," Tobias said with a sigh. "Now. Let's get it over with."

We trudged toward Mickey D's. I never ate there anymore. Ever since we discovered the Yeerk pool entrance, I suppose that I've been a little paranoid. You never know who will pop out of the walk-in fridge.

That's a scary thought.

I shared it with the rest of the group and was not surprised to hear Marco laugh. "Yeah, uh-huh. Has it ever occurred to anyone else that Santa Claus is really a Controller? That maybe he thought he was entering a gateway to the North Pole and really it was a gateway to the Yeerk pool?"

"That's the l99amest joke you've ever made," Rachel grumbled. "Plus, Santa isn't real."

"You've stabbed me to the heart, Rachel," Marco moaned. "What do you mean, not real?! But...but...he's Santa! He HAS to be real!"

"Marco?"

"Yes, Rachel?"

"Shut up."

"Look, we're tense, we're nervous, and half of us are about to morph Yeerks. No reason to be excited," Jake said, trying out an attempt at humor even lamer than Marco's as he swung the door of McDonald's open. "Okay. Go."

Rachel and I were in a group. I already had a morph perfect for the occasion.

Illim.

Rachel groaned slightly. "Why can't _I_morph?!" she hissed in a low whisper. We both found an empty stall in the bathroom. No one else was in there.

"Because you haven't acquired a Yeerk," I shot back. "Consider yourself lucky. It's not a fun morph."

"Can't be any worse than being infested by your best friend," she shuddered.

I began to morph. I could feel myself shrinking...

I tried to ignore it. I tried to ignore the sensation of being covered in slimy ooze. I tried to ignore the fact that I was swiftly losing my sight. I tried to ignore the fact that I was morphing into a slug.

It didn't work too well.

I completed the morph (not a moment too soon) and scrunched my way underneath the stall.

As always, the morph came complete with thought-speak. I made use of it. **Rachel, where are you? I'm blind here!**

I could hear nothing, of course. But I could feel myself being lifted up, up, up. I could feel myself being pressed to a small opening. Rachel's ear canal.

I made contact with the brain. I'd done it before. I knew how it worked.

**You take one look at my memories and you are a dead slug,** she growled. **And I am keeping control of my body.**

**Fine, fine, fine. I'll just sit here, helpless,** I complained.

**A slug's life,** Rachel said, moving for the bathroom's exit. We emerged into the restaurant.

I could see Tobias and Jake heading towards us. I knew that Ax was morphed into a Yeerk (not exactly something he'd wanted to do, but better than the alternative of being infested) inside Tobias's brain, and Marco was morphed into a Yeerk inside Jake's brain.

Not a pretty thing to think of.

We got past the Gleet BioFilter easily. It had no way of detecting us. The fact that the Yeerks were morphs meant nothing to it. It wasn't aware that anything was wrong.

**So. We're past the Gleet BioFilter, then what?** Marco asked.

**We've gone over that what, a hundred times?** I said impatiently. I was tense, hyped up. I didn't like the Yeerk pool. I never had liked it. **We get down there, the Yeerks crawl out and hide in the Yeerk pool, demorph, remorph to battle morphs, and the rest of us just act like we belong.**

**Why am I not looking forward to this?!** Marco groaned. **Not enough that I had to touch Illim to acquire him, not enough that I had to become him, not enough that I have to be sitting here, a Yeerk, in my best friend's brain -- noooooooo, of course that's not enough! I have to crawl into the Yeerk pool, demorph, and remorph inside it!**

**Ask him if he really didn't know the plan, or if he just asked so he could complain,** Rachel requested, amusement in her silent voice.

**Rachel wants to know if you really didn't know the plan, or if you just asked so you could complain,** I reported.

**Just asked so I could complain,** he replied.

**Figured,** Rachel muttered.

**She figured. Okay, this is where we get off, right, Jake?** I asked, sighting the de-infestation pier.

**Yeah. Just hope no one recognizes us,** Marco answered for him.

In case you can't figure it out, the Yeerks were doing the talking. The hosts were just keeping quiet, waiting.

**See? I knew you knew the plan,** Tobias said. Being in a morph, he could thought-speak as well.

I was first the little line of Animorphs. Or Rachel was the first, depending on how you looked at it.

I drained out of her ear canal slowly. I could feel myself losing contact with the brain, losing sight, losing hearing.

I was nothing. I was...helpless!

But I was home. I was in the Yeerk pool.

I was home.

Yeah. Right. The real me got a grip pretty quickly. A sludgy cesspool is as my home is not exactly what I want for my life.

I scrunch-thrusted my way deeper, deeper, deeper. I was close to the bottom. I would be unseen. I could morph my fly morph, find the MCZ/MCZs and report back.

If I didn't run out of air first.   


* * *

**Chapter Four -- Tobias**

* * *

  
Ax drained out of my ear. I could feel his eagerness to demorph, to remorph to any form, any form at all as long as he was out of that vile slug body.

Personally, I was relieved myself. The hawk in me -- the hawk that I knew I would forever carry inside -- didn't like the invader. It didn't like the presence in its mind. My presence was enough. My presence was confusing enough, this strange creature who felt guilt, who hated killing.

All of us were "involuntary" hosts. The involuntaries are the norm, the voluntaries are the exception. We didn't need to call attention to ourselves in any way.

What was I supposed to do? Sit around and twiddle my thumbs? Scream and act enraged? Stare off into space? Try to bust the door down?

I chose the third option. I stared off into space, trying to give my face a forlorn, despairing expression.

"Where is the Tishimeloa?"

The voice startled me. I stared up. Two human-Controllers were standing a short ways away.

Tishimeloa? Was that the technical name for the MCZ?

He'd said _is._ A singular verb. Perhaps a small, at first glance unimportant detail, but I sighed in relief. Singular. Not plural.

Only one to deal with.

"It's...it's...I don't know!" The man's voice rose in a wail. "This isn't my doing!"

The other Controller grabbed him by the shirt collar and almost lifted him off the ground. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU DON'T KNOW?!" he roared. His voice lowered. I strained to hear, barely able to make out the words. "How could you lose something so important?!"

"It's a small device, Visser!" he whimpered. "It...we could have Andalite penetration! That must be it! I only left it for a moment --"

He laughed harshly. "Andalite penetration? HAH! The BioFilter would have picked it up. As for you, you'd better FIND IT or I'll have the Visser down here in his Vanarx morph before you can blink your host's eyes!"

I'd learned three very important facts. Number One: There was only one. Number Two: It was small. Number Three, and also most obvious: It was missing.

I decided to contact the others. I could still thought-speak. **Rachel, Ax, Cassie, Jake, Marco, if you can hear me, the Tishimeloa -- the MCZ -- is missing. There is only one. And it's small, so don't be looking for something big. If you can respond, please do.**

**I heard two Controllers talking,** Marco reported. **The question is, where is it? Who would have taken it? And why?**

**Too many questions. Let's just focus on where it is and who's in the way,** Rachel said with one of her wild laughs.

**I SEE IT!** Cassie yelled excitedly.

**What?!** Ax demanded. **Where is it? What does it look like?**

**It is about the size of the blue box. It's red, it's a cube. Some guy is walking around with it. Strange -- I think he was the same guy yelling at the other guy for losing it.**

**That's it!** I cried. **He's trying to elevate himself in front of Visser Three. That has to be it. If it's lost, and he finds it, he'll be rewarded, big time. The guy who supposedly lost it will be dead meat.**

**Well, we've found the Tishemula or whatever it's called,** Marco said. **Now the question is, what do we do with it?**


End file.
